


doodles in detention

by devantsun



Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:34:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27114058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/devantsun/pseuds/devantsun
Summary: “Welcome to detention!” Someone announces, stupidly cheerful. The same kid with the same shock of pale white hair.(In which Zagreus and Hypnos meet in high school.)
Relationships: Hypnos/Zagreus (Hades Video Game)
Comments: 20
Kudos: 249





	doodles in detention

On the first day of high school, Zagreus gets detention. It’s hardly unusual; he’s had a fair few fights in middle school, although no one will ever listen to him when he says it’s self-defense (which it is, if you’d care to know). He’s given up explaining himself a long time ago, and he typically skips class because he’s got more important things to do, like grab McDonald’s from the moody worker who never wants to talk and sulk. He’s typically labeled as ‘the troubled kid’ by teachers.

Zagreus, a troubled kid?

Worse things have been said about him.

So he gets detention the first day. This time, it’s because he had taken the chance of texting in class, and it hadn’t really gone over well. He was texting his boss Achilles about coming in to work over the weekend, but the teacher had wanted nothing to do with his explanations, so here he was. Holding a slip of paper that had his name on it and a room number. 

He doesn’t bother looking at the room number. He knows the way. It may be his first day of high school, but he’s come here to run errands for his father long enough.

Not that he does that anymore. He got ‘fired’ a long time ago. But once you’ve been around this campus enough, you kind of know where things are. It’s a small campus, cramped. Full of students with a propensity for violence. Zagreus likes to call it the first level of hell.

The detention room is on the second floor, on the first room to the left. Zagreus pauses outside the door, wondering if he should even show up, but he doesn’t particularly care for getting expelled entirely. 

Well, it doesn’t make much difference for him. He’s not interested in high school, or college for that matter. But getting expelled would entail a far more severe lecture from his father than he already gets. 

He pushes his father to the limit constantly. He doesn’t know what will happen when that limit breaks.

So he pushes open the door to his punishment, expecting an empty room and perhaps Meg, the overseer for detention. She’s only a TA, but she’s so responsible the teacher usually leaves her alone.

Instead, there’s one other kid sitting at one of the desks, his skin ashen and hair an unruly mess of curls. He’s got deep sleep bags under his eyes, but smiles at Zagreus sunnily as he steps into the classroom. “Zagreus, isn’t it?” 

Zagreus eyes him. “Office TA?”

It would explain how he knows Zagreus, instantly. Zagreus has never seen him before; he thinks he’d remember a kid with such an unhealthy pallor to his skin, but perhaps Zagreus has just not been paying attention. Zagreus’s suspicions are confirmed with a nod of the head. 

“What’s your name, then?” Zagreus asks, sliding into the desk adjacent to him. 

“Hypnos,” the guy says. His eyes scrunch up with his smile. “What’re you in for?”

Zagreus would definitely remember a smile like that. “Texting in class,” he mutters. “You?”

“Sleeping,” says Hypnos. 

“Seriously? You look like you haven’t gotten enough, mate.”

“Thanks,” Hypnos chirps, looking entirely unaffected. “Have you tried texting outside of class?”

“No, I haven’t,” Zagreus says with a touch of sarcasm. He sweeps his hair back from his eyes.

“That’s enough out of the two of you,” says Meg, sweeping into the room in a flurry of blue hair and annoyed eyes. “I expect silence for the rest of detention.”

Zagreus and Hypnos exchange a look.

“What are you going to do, Meg, kick us out of detention?” Zagreus asks mildly. Hypnos snorts a laugh.

“Don’t push me. I can get you expelled.”

That shuts Zagreus up.

True enough to the nature of detention, they sit in silence for the rest of the hour that passes. Zagreus does nothing but watch Hypnos doodle. The doodles are messy but cute; a three headed-dog, what suspiciously looks like a portrait of Hades; Zagreus can’t really make out much from the scribbles besides a beard and angry eyebrows. It looks like a caricature, and an amusing one at that.

They walk together after they are dismissed. 

(“I’ll be seeing you,” Meg says, and it sounds like a threat.)

“I’ve never heard anyone call her Meg,” Hypnos says, after looking behind himself as if to make sure she is not within earshot.

“I’ve known her a long time,” Zagreus admits. He does not add the fact that they are uncomfortable exes. 

“Really? Has she always been that strict and beautiful?”

He’s kind of regretting that now. “Yes.”

They fall silent.

“Were you drawing my dad?” Zagreus asks, after a moment.

Hypnos gives it to him with that infuriatingly cute smile. “Sure was! Here.”

Zagreus takes it, and holds it in front of him, taking in the full glory that is his father scowling with huge, thick eyebrows and a beard at least twice as long as it actually is. “Huh. Nice.”

Hypnos doesn’t ask for it back. 

Zagreus takes it home, and props it on his mess of a desk. He would just love to see his father’s reaction to it, but he hardly comes in Zagreus’s room; he’s always in the same chair, doing legal paperwork. Zagreus could swear he never moves from that spot, not even to drink water. Leave it to his father to survive off of sheer spite. 

\--

Another day, another teacher who can’t mind their own business.

Zagreus pushes the door open for the second time that week. 

“Welcome to detention!” Someone announces, stupidly cheerful. The same kid with the same shock of pale white hair. Hypnos, who is quickly growing on Zagreus; he doesn’t think he’s ever met someone as lively as Hypnos, especially in situations such as detention. He has to appreciate the relentless easy-going nature of the guy.

“Can’t you sleep at home?” Zagreus asks as he sits next to Hypnos.

“Nope! Insomnia,” Hypnos says, which explains a lot. “But oh boy, Calculus really seems to cure that. Too bad the teacher’s a dick, you know how it is. Can’t you text outside of class?”

“Wasn’t texting,” Zagreus says. “Skipped.”

“Oh. Have you tried, maybe, not getting caught?” 

Zagreus’s smile is exasperated. “I hadn’t considered that, actually.”

Hypnos giggles. Zagreus’s eyes catch on the way his teeth flash in the fluorescent light.

Meg strides into the room, killing any possible conversation that would have continued. “Same drill,” she says.

Hypnos doodles. Zagreus watches. Today is what looks like the track coach, except with wings on the sides of his head- it seems oddly fitting. 

Zagreus holds the door open for him on the way out. 

“My prince,” Hypnos says with a hand on his chest. His eyelashes flutter, a little bit.

Zagreus knocks him with his shoulder playfully. “See if I hold the door next time.”

Hypnos laughs, and hands him his sheet of paper.

Zagreus takes it, and studies the way the pencil lines glint in the light. 

“Try and get some sleep for once, yeah?” says Zagreus when they reach the end of the hallway, where Hypnos usually breaks away to walk the opposite direction.

“No promises!”

Zagreus is smiling when he gets home, and he’s still smiling when he carefully sets the sketch of Hermes on his desk. He’s starting to form a little collection. 

It is this that keeps the smile on his face.

\--

Hypnos is once again sitting at one of the desks, although he’s joined by two other guys who are sitting a few seats away. They both have short cropped hair, and large muscles. One of the guys has a deep scratch over his eye- it’s barely scabbed over- and he’s glowering at Hypnos, while the other stares a violent hole into the floor.

Hypnos gives him a bright smile, albeit somewhat dimmer than it usually is. He has a dark mottling of yellow-black bruising across his eye; Zagreus feels instantly, ridiculously overprotective of this kid, who he’s talked to twice but instantly liked.

There is no greeting this time; Meg is already standing at the front of the classroom, brandishing a whiteboard marker like it’s a whip. She’s written _NO TALKING_ on the board.

Zagreus gives her a nod. She ignores him. It still cuts deep, the cool indifference that she projects. Zagreus can only hope that they reach something close to friends again, even if it’ll never be like it used to. Zagreus only has so many friends, and he can’t afford to lose another of them.

Hypnos does not doodle this time; he’s visibly trying to remain awake, although he keeps drifting off and jerking his head back up. Zagreus can only guess at what will happen if he actually falls asleep in detention; surely Meg would find something painstaking for him to do. 

There is blood under his nails. Zagreus spends a considerable amount of time staring at this, and at the scratch lines along the other kid’s face. It does not take much to put the two things together.

A fight would be expected from Zagreus, perhaps. It is the last thing Zagreus expects from Hypnos.

Zagreus holds the door open for him again. Hypnos mutters a ‘thanks’ and keeps walking. 

After a beat, Zagreus catches up to him. “Get any sleep, mate?”

Hypnos looks caught off-guard, but smiles, hesitantly. “No. What was it this time? Skipping class or texting?”

“Tardy,” Zagreus says. There are still footsteps behind them. Zagreus chances a glance, and finds the two boys following them. 

Hypnos does not turn, but his expression is blank.

They reach their parting point. The decision is easy; Zagreus turns along with Hypnos, settling into step next to him.

Hypnos looks over to him, and blinks. “Wrong turn, ‘mate’?” 

“Nah, I’m going the right way.”

“Oh.” Hypnos flushes with understanding. “It’s really- you don’t have to.”

“I want to,” Zagreus assures him. 

Hypnos’s eyelashes dip with his smile. 

They chatter the rest of the way to the bus stop. The two guys give up halfway there and turn back around, but Zagreus keeps walking with Hypnos regardless.

He sits with Hypnos until the bus arrives. Hypnos gets up, and Zagreus does as well- he always carpools with Eurydice, although she’s so gentle-mannered that Zagreus is sure she won’t mind the delay.

Hypnos shifts his backpack strap, and reaches into his pocket. He pulls out a wad of Post-it notes and a sharpie, and jots something down, sliding it into Zagreus’s hands. Their fingers touch. Hypnos’s hands are unusually cold, like he’d stuck them in a refrigerator shortly beforehand.

“Thanks,” Hypnos says, and turns on his heel. He waves a good-bye. 

Zagreus blinks down at the Post-it note. 

It’s a series of numbers and a scrawled smiley face. 

\--

(2:18) hey, it’s zagreus

(2:20) _who?_

(2:21) _jk jk lol thanks u were totally my saviour today <33_

(2:22) my pleasure. I can walk with you from now on if you like.

(2:23) _oh_

(2:24) _i’d love that!! i don’t exactly like getting decked lol_

(2:25) don’t think anyone does, mate. is there a reason they’re targeting you?

(2:26) _pretty sure it’s because they’re biphobic, but like, i don’t know for sure. kinda hard to ask when ur getting punched_

(2:27) _oh god ur not are u_

(2:28) what? no. and I’m gay, actually 

(2:29) _no WAY_

(2:30) _I THOUGHT I HAD A GOOD GAYDAR AND I’M HONESTLY FEELING SO BETRAYED RN_

\--

Hypnos quickly ingratiates himself into Zagreus’s life. It’s all very sudden; now, he walks with Zagreus before school and after school. Texts Zagreus during class constantly when he’s not falling asleep. Always greets him with a cheery wave and a quip. He brings a certain life to Zagreus’s days now that he does not think was ever present before. 

And Zagreus truly wouldn’t mind. He wouldn’t, if it weren’t for his relentless stupid crush on Hypnos.

He’d felt the first flickers of something the first few times they’d met; he’s smiled more than he had in weeks, honestly, although that was somewhat of a low standard considering his home life. Barring that, he’d felt- something. Something that made his chest light.

But after Hypnos had officially become a constant in his life, Zagreus’s feelings had only grown stronger. He can barely hide the way his world tilts when Hypnos smiles. His feelings are too loud, almost bursting from him and he cannot breathe when he is around Hypnos. 

He’d tried to say something, in the beginning. He came close. But then Hypnos had looked at him with that patient smile and the words had stuck in his throat. 

Zagreus had never been...like this. Hesitant. Afraid to pursue something. But ever since Meg, he’s been too afraid of messing up. Of developing feelings where there was none. 

So he asks Dusa for help.

“Oh, erm, I could. Be your wingwoman! Ahaha. Just. Don’t expect too much of me, really, this is kind of new for me and well-” Dusa rubs the back of her neck, and doesn’t finish her sentence. 

Zagreus is used to this kind of behaviour. He clasps his hands with hers. “Dusa, that’d be lovely. I can’t thank you enough.”

“A-anything for my best friend,” Dusa says with a shy giggle. “I’ll walk with you both tomorrow, okay? Okay. I’ll figure something out, ah, anyway, goodbye!”

Zagreus is also used to the abrupt good-byes. Dusa has always been this way; it’s just so innately her, the little mannerisms. 

Tomorrow, then. 

\--

Zagreus is....nervous. He can’t say he’s ever been afraid of anything, before, but naturally Hypnos would be the exception. He just can’t help but worry about how this morning is going to go down.

And, now that he thinks of it, Dusa had never been in a relationship before; perhaps he shouldn’t have asked her, but shit, there Hypnos and Dusa come- they must have met at the front gate.

Hypnos looks nice, though to be fair he usually does. Today he’s wearing a tucked-in dark Queen shirt with cuffed skinny black jeans and combat boots. 

He shifts the strap of his backpack and walks toward them.

“-and I got a fifty, can you believe it?” Hypnos was saying.

Dusa’s face slides between a smile and a grimace as Zagreus approaches. “Y-You should study. Like Zagreus!”

“Zagreus studies?” Hypnos raises an eyebrow, as Zagreus shakes his head and falls into step with them. “Yeah. that’s what I thought.”

“N-no, I meant. We should all study. Together. Tonight. The Biology exam’s, um, tomorrow, yeah?”

Neither Zagreus nor Hypnos look suitably enthused, so Dusa flushes. “Dumb idea. Sorry.”

Hastily, wanting to reassure Dusa, Zagreus opens his mouth, and finds himself agreeing to study. Hypnos does too when Zagreus shoots a look at him. They agree to a meeting place and time.

Dusa practically bounces in place. “O-okay! See you then,” she titters, and then she turns on her heel and literally _sprints_ away, disappearing quickly into the crowd of milling students. Zagreus spares a moment to feel disappointed that there was apparently no ‘wing-woman-ing’ going on, although he was feeling rather relieved about the whole thing, now.

“Whoa, what was that about?” Hypnos watches her go.

“She’s like that,” Zagreus says with a laugh. “Always running somewhere. Sorry about volunteering you for studying tonight, she just looked so sad-”

Hypnos is nodding before Zagreus finishes his sentence. “-Like a kicked puppy,” he says.

“Exactly.” Zagreus smiles. “Besides, we’ll get to hang out. I’ll buy you coffee.”

“My saviour,” Hypnos sighs. “You know I’d do anything for coffee.”

Zagreus does. It’s slightly concerning, and he tells him so.

Hypnos laughs and tells him to shut up.

\--

He and Hypnos end up meeting inside the Starbucks. Hypnos gets a frappuccino, something with too much sugar and whipped cream from the looks of it. Zagreus tries one of the refreshers; strawberry flavour mixed with lemonade. It’s not bad.

“Dusa’s pretty late,” Zagreus remarks, taking a sip of his drink. “Want to grab a table for us?”

“Sure, yeah.”

They sit and talk for a bit. Zagreus, embarrassingly, loses track of the time until his phone buzzes. 

**(3:45) Have fun, you two! Said I’d wingwoman, hehe.**

“Shit,” Zagreus says out loud.

“Huh?” Hypnos has a little smear of whipped cream on his cheek; god knows how he’d gotten it there. Zagreus leans in from across the table and wipes it off with his thumb.

Hypnos’s cheek is smooth, and turns a fetching shade of pink. He laughs, and it sounds nervous. “Dusa say something?”

Zagreus takes his hand back. “Yeah, uh…” He casts about for an appropriate lie, and settles on a half-truth. “I don’t think she’s coming.”

“Oh,” Hypnos doesn’t look too disappointed. “Darn. No studying, I guess.”

Zagreus grins. “Tell me why I knew you would say that.”

Hypnos props his head in his hands and grins back. “You know me so well. She say why she’s not coming?”

Damnit. 

“She’s…not feeling well.” says Zagreus.

“Um, excuse me?” An unfamiliar voice cuts in.

Hypnos and Zagreus both look up. It’s a boy who looks roughly their age, with freckles and a mess of frizzy orange curls. He has a drink in hand and there’s a girl standing a few feet away, observing. He’s looking at Zagreus oddly. “Could I get your number?”

Ah. That kind of odd. It’s blunt, and honestly a shock. Zagreus is entirely unaccustomed to this kind of situation; most kids at school steer clear of him.

“Uh…” Zagreus slides his eyes over to Hypnos, who’s staring at the table. “Sorry, that’s, um, that’s my boyfriend.”

Hypnos jerks and looks up. His eyes go wide, but he nods along.

“Oh...lucky guy,” the other guy says with a laugh. “Have a good day, okay?”

“Yeah, you too,” Zagreus manages, still feeling distinctly like his heart’s going to explode from panic.

He leaves with a parting wave, chattering away to the girl who’d been standing behind him.

“So,” Hypnos begins. “Your boyfriend, huh.”

Zagreus colours. “Shut up, I panicked.”

“For someone who’s single- you’re single, right?”

Zagreus assents.

“-You’re sure not going to get a boyfriend like that,” Hypnos laughs. “What, is he not your type?”

“No,” Zagreus says. He’s reached the bottom of his drink. He places it down. 

He expects that to be the end of it, but Hypnos pursues.

“What’s your type, then?” 

Zagreus steels himself - if there’s a time to make a move, it must be now. “Guys with insomnia and a coffee addiction.”

“Oh.” Hypnos flushes. “ _Oh_. What- you-”

He goes speechless, for the first time Zagreus has seen. He gestures uselessly at Zagreus; it takes him a moment before he clears his throat and tries to speak again.

“You- why didn’t you _say something._ ”

Zagreus shrugs helplessly. His stomach is somewhere near his toes. “Because I didn’t know if you liked me too?”

Hypnos gives him a look. “Of course I- have you tried, I don’t know, kissing me to see?”

“No, I haven’t,” Zagreus murmurs, but the words are not sarcastic. He cups Hypnos’s face in his hands, and kisses him.

It is sweet and slow; the warmth of Hypnos’s mouth, so at contrast to the rest of his body, surprises Zagreus and he pulls back. The warmth lingers on Zagreus’s lips.

“Well?” Hypnos says. “What do you think?”

“I think you like me,” Zagreus says, unable to keep the smile off his face.

“I think so too, dork.”

It turns out Dusa really is the best wingwoman out there.

**Author's Note:**

> every day i look in the zagnos tag and go goddamnit why is there no co n t e nt so here i aM i guess\
> 
> shoutout to that one zagnos artist you are what pushed me to finish this thank u so much <33 this one's dedicated to you!


End file.
